Waiata 11: He mea whakamāori, nā ngā Waiata a Wiremu Hākipia
A translation into Māori of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 11
Memeha rawa atu koe, ka tere tipu mai anō
I roto i taua kāwai ka whakarērea atu e koe;
Nā, ko taua pūtoto ora i tātāia ki roto ki a ia
Hei kokorahonga māu ina tāu atu koe i tō taiohi.
Koinei te mātauranga, te ātaahua, te makuru;
Manohi anō, ko te wawa, te koroheke, te taiora:
Mehe he pēnā katoa, kua mutu ngā taima,
Kia ono-tekau ngā tau, kua hemo katoa atu te ao.
Waiho kia mate huakore ngā mea kakawa, āhua-kore,
Me mohoao, kāore rātou i hangā e Tāne mō muri atu:
Whakaarohia āna mea kahurangi, nui atu ngā painga;
Maha ō rātou oha pōike hei maimoatanga mōu.
He mea whakairo nāna koe hei hīri māna,
Kia huhua rawa ō perēhitanga, kia kaua taua kape e mate.
As fast as thou shalt wane, so fast thou grow’st
In one of thine, from that which thou departest;
And that fresh blood which youngly thou bestow’st
Thou mayst call thine when thou from youth convertest.
Herein lives wisdom, beauty and increase;
Without this, folly, age and cold decay:
If all were minded so, the times should cease
And threescore year would make the world away.
Let those whom Nature hath not made for store,
Harsh, featureless and rude, barrenly perish:
Look, whom she best endow’d she gave the more;
Which bounteous gift thou shouldst in bounty cherish:
She carv’d thee for her seal, and meant thereby
Thou shouldst print more, not let that copy die.
Image: Derelict House at Paihia, built for Rāwiri Taiwhanga in 1831, later used by William Colenso as a printer, housing New Zealand’s first printing press, circa 1963. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington | Pōneke. Catalogue entry here.